THE brother of a man who hanged himself after being dropped off by police at a Burnley hotel has pleaded with the public to help him solve questions surrounding his brother’s death.

An open verdict was recorded by an inquest jury at Burnley Crown Court last week following the death of John Sample, 36, who was found hanging near Ridge Avenue in January 2007.

Mr Sample had been staying at his brother Ralph’s home after he had been arrested over a disturbance at his parents home in west London.

Magistrates had bailed him to live in Burnley, but Ralph had called police, amid fears that his brother, who had mental health problems, was behaving in a threatening manner towards him and his teenage son.

Police attended the scene and it was eventually decided by officers that John should be taken to the Premier Inn, in Queen Victoria Road.

His body was discovered hanging two days later.

Ralph Sample, of Brunshaw Road, says the jury’s verdict has left the family with more unanswered questions.

He said: “Because it is an open verdict there has been no resolution for us.

"If it was suicide then we could just accept it. I would have been happier if we could say what had happened.”

He is appealing for anyone who saw John, between him leaving his home late on Saturday, January 27, 2007, to lunchtime on January 29, to come forward.

He is particularly interested in anyone who saw his brother at the Premier Inn on either the Saturday or Sunday.

An inquiry was held by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) after John and Ralph’s father, Bryan, questioned the Lancashire force’s actions.

Mr Sample had contacted Burnley police to outline his concerns over his son, who had not booked in at the hotel, as envisaged.

The final report by the IPCC recommended that ‘words of advice’ should be given to a Burnley sergeant over the assessment of vulnerable missing persons.